The content of nostalgic memories among people living with dementia

Ismail, Sanda; Dodd, Emily; Christopher, Gary; Wildschut, Tim; Sedikides, Constantine; Cheston, Richard

Abstract

Although dementia may affect the reliability of autobiographical memories, the psychological properties of nostalgic memories may be preserved. We compared the content of nostalgic (n = 36) and ordinary (n = 31) narratives of 67 participants living with dementia. Narratives were rated according to their self-oriented, social, and existential properties, as well as their affective content. Social properties and affective content were assessed using a linguistic word count procedure. Compared to the ordinary narratives described in the control condition, nostalgic narratives described atypical events, expressed more positive affect, and had more expressions of self-esteem and self-continuity. They were also rated higher on companionship, connectedness and the closeness of relationships, and reflected life as being meaningful. Despite their cognitive impairment, people living with dementia experience nostalgia in similar ways to cognitively healthy adults, with their nostalgic narratives containing self-oriented, social, and existential properties

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 6, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jun 10, 2021
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: May 7, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 11, 2021
• Journal: The International Journal of Aging and Human Development
• Print ISSN: 0091-4150
• Electronic ISSN: 1541-3535
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 94
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 436-458
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00914150211024185
• Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; autobiographical memory; meaning in life; self-continuity; social connectedness; self-esteem
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7341841